Application of atomic force microscopy and ultrasonic resonator technology on nanoscale: Distinction of nanoemulsions from nanocapsules

Oily core nanocapsules were prepared by sequential addition of positively and negatively charged polyelectrolytes based on a nanoemulsion and transformation thereof into a core-shell structure. The capsules were well characterized by photon correlation spectroscopy, laser diffraction, zeta-potential and transmission electron Microscopy and feature an average size of 150 nm and a negative surface charge. The aim of the current study was to improve the dispersion stability and mechanic rigidity of the capsule wall by depositing an increasing number of up to five layers. Therefore, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ultrasonic resonator technology (URT) were applied to investigate the shell of the nanoemulsion, the intermediate and final nanocapsules in more detail. AFM was performed to investigate the shape, morphology and mechanic properties of the emulsion and capsule shell. It proved to be a feasible technique to distinguish nanoemulsions from nanocapsules by stiffness analysis. URT was utilized in order to observe the ultrasound velocity and could confirm the AFM results. Both techniques demonstrated that the shell around an oil droplet solidified with increasing number of polyelectrolyte layers. Since a solid wall might have the potential of a strong diffusion barrier, nanocapsules might present a feasible prolonged release drug delivery system in contrast to nanoemulsions. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.